'Walk for Truth' draws curtain on nation-first inquiry
A weary Aboriginal leader is not ready to put his feet up for good after walking halfway across the state to shine a light on its dark colonial past.
A crowd of thousands greeted Travis Lovett outside Victorian parliament on Wednesday as he finished his 508km walk from Portland, where colonisation began in the state in 1834.
More than 12,000 people joined him along the 25-day Walk for Truth, which represented the end of the long-running Yoorrook Justice Commission.
With both feet freed of his shoes, the Yoorrook commissioner and deputy chair became emotional when talking about the toll the journey has taken.
"The body has been sore," he told reporters.
"I've had my moments where my feet have been sitting in the same shoes for nine hours straight, but that is nothing compared to what our people have been through.
"We don't ask for sympathy but we ask people to open their minds and open their hearts to the full lived experience of our people here."
Yoorrook is Australia's first first formal, Indigenous-led truth-telling process.
It was established in 2021 to create a public record of Indigenous experiences since colonisation and its ongoing impacts on Aboriginal people.
The inquiry has held dozens of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates.
Mr Lovett said it had ended the silence and laid the foundation for tangible change.
"It's not about blame, it's about the truth," he told the crowd while foreshadowing future walks through other parts of the state.
"Our old people didn't fight for sorrow, they fought so that we might live well."
An interim report by Yoorrook called for wholesale changes to Victoria's criminal justice and child protection systems, but the state government only fully committed to implement six of 43 recommendations.
Its final report is expected to be handed to the governor in coming days.
Chair Eleanor Bourke has flagged it will contain more than 100 recommendations, including some that can be actioned immediately and others as part of a statewide treaty.
Premier Jacinta Allan, who was presented with a message stick carried the full length of the walk, said the official public record would be critical to treaty talks.
"You can't have treaty without truth - they go together," she said.
Treaty negotiations between the state government and First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria kicked off in late 2024.
Details have been vague on exactly what is on the table but an update on Wednesday confirmed parties discussed Yoorrook's public record becoming a possible resource for teachers.
Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg suggested a statewide agreement could be reached later in 2025, ahead of Victorians heading to the polls in November 2026.
"First people's decisions should be made by first people's - that's what we're working towards here in Victoria," he said.
The Victorian Liberal opposition withdrew its support for a statewide treaty in 2024 following the failed national voice to federal parliament referendum.
If and when an agreement is struck, legislation must pass both houses of state parliament for the treaty to be ticked off.
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